Animating Architecture and the Assembly of an Elite City: Birth and Dedication of Nonhuman Persons at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico

We discuss the role of dedication ceremonies at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using an animistic perspective involving other-than-human, spiritually potent agents who influence and are influenced by humans. Animated agents can include artifacts and architecture, which humans create through negotiating with other agents (e.g., the potter negotiates with the clay, kiln, and fire to make pottery). Dedication ceremonies in such cases help bring active agents to life and imbue them with the specific characteristics that humans want them to have. We illustrate this process using Puebloan ethnology from the North American Southwest and then explore three cases of architectural dedication at Paquimé: the Mound of the Serpent, a pot under a water reservoir, and a central support post within the structure. These cases reflect the use of the architecture to help ensure access to water, which in turn helped Paquimé’s elites establish their city as preeminent in the region.